Several prominent Minnesota officials on Sunday called for all four Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd’s death to be held accountable, as protests and police clashes continue escalating in major cities across the country.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter (D) expressed their dissatisfaction over former police officer Derek Chauvin — who is seen in videos pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck as he struggled to breathe — being the only cop facing criminal charges thus far. All four cops have been fired for their involvement in Floyd’s death.
Here’s how the Minnesota officials weighed in:
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
Asked by NBC’s Chuck Todd on whether he wants to see federal charges brought against all four police officers involved in Floyd’s death, Ellison replied “yes I do.” But he’s unsure it will happen.
“I don’t know. I hope so,” Ellison said, before praising U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Erica MacDonald for being “a serious prosecutor” he trusts.
Ellison later added that the three officers who haven’t been charged are “not out of the woods” and that an investigation is ongoing.
Watch Ellison’s remarks below:
Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison wants to see federal charges brought against all four police officers involved in George Floyd's death pic.twitter.com/CQuZ2IJ4HD
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) May 31, 2020
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)
Pressed by ABC News’ George Stephanopolous on what more must be done to deliver justice in the Floyd case, Omar responded that people want to see charges for the three other officers “who stood by idly” as they watched Floyd’s life be taken.
Omar went on to urge the need for nationwide reforms and argued that the widespread uproar over Floyd’s death “isn’t just because of the life that was taken.”
“We need to really step back and say to ourselves, where do we actually from here?” Omar said. “And that can’t just be getting justice for George Floyd. It needs to be bigger than that.”
Watch Omar’s remarks below:
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter
Carter told CNN’s Jake Tapper about his father’s time as a St. Paul police officer, adding that “all of humanity” can look at footage of Floyd’s encounter with Minneapolis police officers and say “that’s disgusting, that’s unacceptable.”
Carter added that no charges for the three officers who held Floyd down or stood guard is “an incredible insult to humanity” and to St. Paul officers.
The St. Paul mayor later insisted that he’s asking protestors for peace, not patience.
“What we’re calling for right now is peace. We’re asking our folks to protest peacefully, to scream from the top of their lungs that this can never happen again,” Carter said. “And that not just one — but all four of those officers — must be held accountable.”
Watch Carter’s remarks below:
St. Paul mayor Melvin Carter says all four cops involved with George Floyd's death must be held accountable pic.twitter.com/dpioZru9Og
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) May 31, 2020
Maybe, if the local officials had charged all four because they all seemed to participate in what undeniably looks to a reasonable person like the intentional murder of a man who could pose them no threat, maybe all this unpleasantness could have been avoided.
Three of them were not standing by idly. They were kneeling on Floyd. So, Minneapolis is just going to throw one to the courts and let the others go find new jobs. Appalling.
Wapo reported yesterday https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/30/video-timeline-george-floyd-death/?arc404=true that Chauvin continued to kneel on Floyd’s neck for five minutes after they radioed for an ambulance! How the actual fuck do they explain that move?
I think you could have gotten a sampler platter of explanations if they’d been arrested at the scene and questioned separately.
With Trump now recklessly retweeting Q’anon, I’m beginning to think the only way we start the climb out of this is if prominent Republicans go to the White House and demand Trump’s resignation. Not for the sake of justice, oh no, but so their corporate benefactors can get back to the norm of looting the treasury. This is an unfortunate and unwelcome distraction for them.
The hypocritical, mealy-mouthed statements released by the NFL, Amazon, and other corporate entities aren’t persuasive.